Stiletto
by mcsnellies
Summary: Y2K is about to happen. How can Cody catch a serial killer while dealing with the anguish that dwells within his own heart? Also, I couldn't really find a "category" that fit this story, so just bear with what its stored under.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This is a fictional work and any names, dates, and/or events that are the same are purely coincendental.**

"Sir, we've found another John Doe," said Anthony Roberts. "He matches all of the other killings. The complete package, nay one detail. Taylor,the new coroner, said that the heart puncture wound was three inches deep instead of two and a half. Do you think that the old blade finally grew tired of being used for murderous intent? Sir?"

The lead investigator removed the cigar from his mouth and blew a smoke ring while opening his foggy blue eyes. "We're the first and only completely mobile military/forensics unit. Am I correct?-" Anthony nodded his head yes. "-I don't plan on letting down the Director or myself, so I'm- no, wait, we're- going to catch this sicko and put him in jail and make sure he stays there."

Anthony wanted to ask General Cody Sellers- the lead investigator- how he was so sure the murderer was a man, but the lieutenant colonel held his tongue. Anthony slowly ran a hand through his thick mop of red hair when a fellow comrade burst through the door.

It was Colonel Justin Cleary.

Anthony's hand immediately went to his forehead in the traditional military salute. The colonel paid him no heed. "Sir, one of our own has been murdered!! By the same murderer apparently." The colonel's clothes were in disarray, and his shirt was soaked with sweat. Feeling the need, Justin explained, "You needed to know ASAP, so I didn't bother trying to find Second Lieutenant-" Cody cocked an eyebrow. The higher ranks were always supposed to drive the cruisers. "-Sir, I was up on an all-nighter working on the _four_ case files last night and-"

"Excused, who was it that was murdered, Colonel?" The four-star General asked.

"It was Sargeant Becton, Sir. Wade Becton." Justin took a deep breath, trying to replenish his body of the oxygen he depleted it of. "This is also for you." The Colonel slid a photograph across the mahogany desk.

"What's this?" Cody inquired. He surveyed the photo for a moment then exclaimed, "This is so clinched!" The photo had a message written in blood, presumably in the victim's blood, and said: GIVE UP YOUR INVESTIGATION IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE GENERAL SELLERS.

"This writing appears to be femine," Anthony commented, "Would you care for me to conduct an experiment just to be sure of it being female? Although, the possibility of a man writing like this will complicate matters slightly." Anthony began to leave the spacious office.

"Make sure to especially include the letters I, E, F, and V. These appear to be the main letters," the General said.

Anthony waved him off, "I will Sir, I will." As he was walking out of the office, he bumped shoulders with a woman accidently. Her purse dropped to the floor, spilling some of the contents. "Oh, I'm sorry mamn, let me help you with that." As Anthony bent down, a silver glint caught his eyes. He handed her a couple of papers, and waited for her to turn around. "Mamn, I suggest you put your purse down and slowly raise your hands where I can see them."

"And if I don't?" The woman's voice had a bitter-sweet melody to it, like a sweet sorrow.

"Mamn, I have my gun out, and if it comes to it, I will use force." Normally, Anthony wouldn't hurt a fly, but him, the Colonel, and the General had been raised tight, especially him and the General.

The woman slowly placed her purse upon the ground and raised her hands even more slowly. The Lieutenant Colonel was so focused on watching the woman's hands, he forgot all about her feet. She slowly raised her right heel and slid it across the heel of her left heel. The sole fell off, revealing a small blade of about three inches from the stiletto heel.

The woman made a roundhouse kick aimed at Anthony's neck. He narrowly avoided the blade that would've killed him. Anthony could hear the blade whistling through the air as the blade cut through the air. Yet, in that same split second, Anthony grabbed the woman's leg. "I counted on you doing that," the woman said. She smiled a grin full of big, shiny white teeth. Never in his life had Anthony wanted to punch a woman so badly, nay maybe his ex-wife.

The woman used the momentum of her stopped kick to snap up and kick Anthony in the temple. He collapsed like a sack of bricks. A thin trickle of blood was coming from his right ear.

By now, the Colonel and General had heard the commotion and were about to move out and investigate. However, the woman was much faster. She stepped into the office with two nine-millimeter pistols and said, "You die now General Sellers." The whip-lash report of a pistol was sounded. Blood, tissue, and skull fragments went flying across the floor. Cody fell back into his chair as the woman collapsed, dead. Anthony stood in the door frame, slightly panting. He too, collapsed, except for his was from a concussion.

* * *

"That was a little too close for comfort Anthony. A second or two later, I would be the one wearing the toe-tag," Cody said.

Anthony nodded his bandaged head and laughed a little nervously. "Yeah, I guess so." He picked up the left stiletto heel and carefully removed the sole. A small blade popped out. "Our murder weapon lies hidden. Who would've thunk it? I mean, in a stiletto heel?"

"How are you so sure?" The beautiful coroner asked.

"Well, Taylor, get one of the vics," commanded Justin. Being a colonel defiantly had it's pay-offs, bossing people around was one of the. When Taylor bent over, both Justin and Anthony began to scope her.

Taylor returned. "Help me with the slab." Justin and Anthony suddenly became aware that Taylor had realized she had been a victim of the classic "Justin and Anthony's Amazing Scope", as they had called it back in their prime college days. "Were you just-" Taylor coughed, "-looking at me?"

Anthony's face burned crimson. "I- I'll help you get that, Taylor." Anthony stammered while the Colonel snickered in the background. Anthony waited until Talor's back was turned to flip Justin the bird. Justin's mouth went into an "O" of fake surprise and tsk-tsked at Anthony. Anthony got another bird in return.

Taylor turned back around. Her left ring finger wore a gold band studded with diamonds. The stones glimmered in the light like the sun would reflect off a calm ocean surface. She had missed the silent bird-flipping ordeal between the Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel. She looked at Justin and said, "I know you were looking at me sweet-heart. Looking back, who would've thought it? Anyway, come help Anthony. Just because you have a higher rank doesn't mean you get to be lazy."

"I probably won't be a higher rank after Anthony saved the General's hide today. So I plan being as lazy as I can be for as long as I can, so-" Justin flopped down in the easy chair that was right outside the autopsy room,"-I plan on being as lazy as long as possible. Plus, I love hearing Anthony call me "sir". So get to work, _Anthony_." Justin put deliberate force on Anthony's name for his own devious reasons.

"Yes, sir." Anthony sighed. _Some things never change._ He thought to himself.

Taylor and Anthony loaded the slap on the coroner table. Anthony then picked up the stiletto heel. The blade popped out. Anthony slipped the blade into the wound.

It was a perfect fit.

Anthony slipped the blade back into the heel. Justin help his hand out, wanting the stiletto. Anthony passed to him. "Tay', get me some of that clay over there. Yeah, that's it." Taylor precede to hand him the lump of clay, then stand back and watch her husband perform his magic. Justin looked on the bottom of the heel, then jammed the heel down hard enough to make the table shake from the force of the impact. "Well, I'll be damned. Look at what we have here." Taylor leaned over to look at the clay. In the center was the coat of arms for the Sellers family. Justin pulled out his cell phone and typed into it, "Yeah, Juice. You might wanna come and see this is. This just became a whole lot more personal for you..." Justin took a picture of the coat of arms and tagged it in the text message.

Taylor couldn't resist. She just had to kiss her man. She leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. Justin savored the taste of her lips for a moment, then looked around. "Where's Anthony?"

"I don't know. Maybe he went to talk to the General. God knows he's always over talking about the case. But forget about him. How do say that word for our meeting that I'm planning on you coming to in a few moments at my place?"

"_Fotte?_ That sounds good. I'll meet you at the 'Vette in a couple minutes."

* * *

Cody was just getting done praying over his food when his phone went off from a text message. He flipped it open and read it aloud to himself. "Yeah, Juice. You might wanna come and see this is. This just became a whole lot more personal for you..." The message was accompied by a picture of his coat of arms. "Oh boy, this can't be good."

Just as Cody was walking out of his office, the Lieutenant Colonel called him. "Sir, did you call me?"

Cody thought a moment about the text message and picture, then decided against it, "Yeah, I called you. Be at my office in five." Cody flipped the phone shut.

Anthony looked at the phone where the General's voice had just been minutes before. _Be here in five,_ the General had said. Anthony gulped down a breath of air. Cody's office was on the opposite side of the complex. It would take about fifteen minutes just to walk when it was calm, but now the offices were alive and buzzing with activities from the four murders and the attempted murder of a four-star general.

Anthony began to run like he had never before.

"Excuse me!" Anthony shouted as he narrowly missed a portable filing cabinet. He looked behind him as he said it. When he turned his head back to watch where he was running, there was a low table being carted away. _I really wished I would've free-ran some now,_ Anthony thought as he mustered his strength up to jump over the table. He dash-vaulted over it, his butt being a mere inch over the table, legs straight forward. Anthony landed, and got back to running.

Anthony glanced down at his watch; he had only two minutes left, and he still had a fourth of the complex to run. _Time for a short-cut. _Anthony thought as he veered off to a small corridor. The hall was narrow, but it was just wide enough for Anthony to go into a full sprint. As he veered another corner, he saw a lady walking toward him. Anthony hit her shoulder, spilling her purse contents onto the floor.

"Hey!" The woman exclaimed angrily at him.

"Sorry." Anthony said back at the woman. "See if I pick up her purse contents," he mumbled under his breath.

Anthony veered the final corner, relieved to see the General's office just in sight. Another brief glance at his watch told him that he was just in time. "Sir!" Anthony called out, offering a perfect salute while running, "Did you need me, sir?"

Cody had his cane in hand. "Yes, the council needs to see you."

Anthony swallowed his anticipation down, and forced his breathing to normal.

The General walked with a slight limp into the giant commons room, followed in close pursuit by the Lieutenant Colonel. As Cody walked in, a series of salutes fell like dominoes through the soldiers that were standing at each side of the "corridor". This "corridor" was actually created by them. At the end was a table that had three gentlemen and one lady seated at it, with one seat open for the General.

Three of the people at the table were Cody's immediate family: his father, also a Four-Star General, his older brother Matt, a Lieutenant General, and his other older brother, Jake, a Two-Star General. The lady sitting at the table was the Director of the FBI, Mariah Logan. Cody assumed his spot beside Jake. Cody began to speak, "I have called you three gentlemen, and one lady, here, to discuss a promotion in rank for Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Roberts.

"As many of you know, this man saved my life along side of another colonel. May you also know that he has been in the service for the same amount of time as many of you, and has put his life on the front-line multiple times for me and his fellow comrades. The vacancy for Brigadier General is open as of a month ago when a good man was gunned down by the Neo-Nazis. I believe the Lieutenant Colonel has long ago earned this position."

The other members of the council leaned in to discuss this. After about fifteen minutes, General Kaufman stood up with the announcement, "Council adjourned for two hours. We will reassume this meeting with the answer." Jake pushed his chair back, followed by the others scuffing the highly polished floors with their own chairs.

Those two hours had to be the longest in all of Anthony's life, other than when he was waiting for his daughter to be born, but that was slightly more than two hours. Finally, the Generals, the Lieutenant General, and the Director resumed their positions at the table. Cody stood up, his face hid slightly in the gloomy shadows of the room. He stepped forward, and a smile came upon his face. "We, the council, have come to a conclusion that Lieutenant Colonel Roberts should be promoted to Brigadier General. May you better serve your country, _Brigadier General_ Anthony Roberts. I now make a notion that we adjourn this meeting," Cody announced.

"I second that," Jake said. That was the king's seal on Anthony's promotion, however, if he messed up, this seal could be removed. The system was strict; that was the sole reason it's the best.

* * *

"I got the promotion! I got the promotion!" Anthony happily chimed to everyone that got in close proximity to him. He practilly skipped into the coroner's office. "Taylor, I got the promotion! Wow, did you get a promotion or something? You look pretty satisfied yourself. Where's Justin?"

Taylor smiled. "Well, the satisfaction part, yeah, I guess you could say that. Justin's in the next room. I'm really beginning to worry about him. These case files have him really stressed out." Anthony began to walk out. "Oh yeah, and Anthony, congrats on the promotion."

Anthony took on his victory walk into Justin's office. "I got the promotion! Justin, I got the -"

The colonel cut him off with the wave of his hand and almost sighed, "So I heard." Justin's face was almost haggard in the low light of his office; only a lamp light and a small corner lamp was on. "Did you know that they're calling the change of the millennium Y2K, for 'Year Two-Thousand'? They think that all electronic equipment will quit for good. Do you know what would happen if that did?"

Anthony had a vague idea. Chaos came to mind.

"The world most likely fall into chaos. Without electricity, most locks, virtually all alarm systems would fail, and looters would be amuck, guns would be put to use, the crime rate and death toll would dramatically increase, the stock market would crash, and we would fall into a second economic depression. I fear that we may not be able to clamor our ways out of this one either. Even if we fight teeth and nail," Justin explained.

"So Y2K is what has you stressed out?" Anthony asked. "Colonel, that is a myth, if you'll excuse me being so blunt. Listen, you have your wife worried sick about you; I guess she thinks your heart will bust or something. Just chill out, it's a myth, like I said," Anthony said, trying his best to offer some comfort.

"Yeah, you're probably right. It was crazy for me thinking it would actually happen. Yeah, you _are_ right," Justin said placing emphasis on _are_, "By the way, congratulations on the new position, sir." Justin said, offering the traditional salute.

Anthony chuckled. "Alright, forget the salute. Just call me sir around the General and other higher-ups, okay?" Anthony spun on the balls of feet and walked back into the coroner's office. The General was with the other coroner, the extremely beautiful Katherine Fischer. "-and this just won't happen! All of that was in high school! In a small town called Millry, roughly 1,700 miles from here. We dated our freshmen year all the way through college. We dated for seven years! _Seven years_! I loved you from the bottom of my heart.

"You said it would only be one semester, possibly the summer too, and you would be back. Until a month ago, I hadn't heard a single thing out of you, a single call, letter, or even a text message! I graduated college and became a coroner, and the Director hired me onto this case. Here, I find you, the lead investigator _and_ a Four-Star General! And yet, you still have the, the audacity to ask me to marry you, you, you cane-ridden hypocrite!" Anthony winced, and he was the General did as well, probably all through Katherine's scolding.

Anthony heard the General's cane taps on the ground. He ducked behind a set of filing cabinets before the General exited. Anthony peeped over the cabinets in time to see the General turn around and look at Kat. This is what the newly titled Brigadier General heard: "It _was supposed_ to be single semester in the camp, then they realized I had potential, and lots of it. That was when I began to rise through the ranks quickly. I was up to my neck in paper-work and Spec Op missions. I thought of you everyday babyluv, but I lost your number, and you know how I am with remembering. Now you just remember, I still, and always will, love you." The cane taps resumed. Anthony ducked back down.

Anthony watched Cody hobble by. There was a small draw-string bag on his right wrist, and a tiny tear slipped down his stubbled face. _Just like in high school_, Anthony thought, _Hard on the outside, sensitive on the inside. _He waited until he was positive the General was gone and out of ear-shot, then slipped back out into the open. He peeked into the office and saw that Katherine was crying.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Anthony asked, knowing well what was the matter.

"It's nothing," Katherine said, still sniveling. "It's just after eleven years of not knowing where Cody is, he just suddenly appears and asks me to marry him. Sometimes I wonder why I still love him." Kat clasped a hand over mouth, then removed it slowly. "You didn't-"

"Hear a thing, yeah I know," Anthony interrupted her. He got up and turned to leave. Without turning, he said, "Oh yeah, Kat? Just a word from the wise, Cody means for the well, and is good at the heart, despite all of his faults, including being a 'cane-ridden hypocrite.'" Katherine winced. "You should really take his offer into consideration. He still thinks of you as 'Babyluv', trust me, I'm one to know."

* * *

_It was only a matter of time before I saw her again, _the General thought,_ Just when I thought I was over her, Kat has to return and rekindle that old flame. Women... _In his mind, Cody sighed,_ Who am I kidding? I never was over her and I probably never will be. Better to get back to that blasted case. Jake, Matt, and Deddy have already headed back to 'Bama. They were only here for the promotion assembly. Maybe Katherine will actually take this ring into consideration._

Cody peered at the ring. It only had one diamond on it, but what made it so unique was the mist inside in it. There was a rose inside it. The General resumed his thinking. _Well, it was my grandmother's. Oh well... -Ah, the office! Time to get-_

"Back to work." The General jumped at the sound of his own deep, guttural voice. He stepped inside his office, and sat behind the desk. However, instead of working on the case files like he planned, Cody tipped his hat forward, and closed his foggy-grey eyes to the cruel world of murder and blind love.

* * *

"Have you found a name for our Jane Doe?" Justin asked Taylor, "The one that attempted to assassinate the General?"

Taylor shook her head no, "And that's not the worst of it. The whole forensic lab just crashed. Everybody's having trouble going old school, except for Hannah." Taylor lowered her voice a little bit. "Personally, I think that-"

"I would love to see what you have to say. Please speak up," Hannah interrupted Taylor. Tay's face turned at least seven shades of crimson at the sound of Hannah's voice. "Personally, I don't mind the change. Maybe it'll make the other lab techs work for their pay-checks for once. Speaking of money, the wallet inside the purse didn't have any ID in it, so we're gonna have to do some asking around. Give these photos to Brigadier Roberts and Cody. I'm going to ask around also."

Justin flustered at the amount of disrespect Hannah was showing toward the General, but swallowed it down. "Okay, you leave two options total. Let you go, or, let you go. It's your choice, but personally, I think I would go with the latter. I'll give these to Brigadier Roberts and _General_ Cody." Justin placed deliberate force on 'General'. "I have a slight feeling that DeWayne will know who our little Jane is," Justin said.

"Who's DeWayne?" Hannah asked.

"The local pimp. If he doesn't know, then maybe one of his two bodyguards, Kaleb 'KK' Powe, or Nehemiah 'Nardo' Henry, will. Those three own the largest prostitute ring in all California; if they don't, then no one will," Justin said.

* * *

"Turn right here," Justin commanded. The black sedan that the General was driving veered to the right. "Okay, make another right here, now a left. The big house right there." Cody pulled into the driveway; directly behind two Escalades, and a high sitting Coupe De Ville.

Cody walked into the large house. Cody figured he didn't need to draw his gun because he had grew up with these people. His "pimp" cane, as Justin and Anthony had recently dubbed it, left a series of resounding echoes. "It's unnaturally quite. I figured I would've heard DeWayne by now, or KK at least," Cody said.

"Maybe they went JCPenny for the Red Tag specials," Justin said, "Or maybe K-Mart for the Blue-"

"Justin, just shut up. By the way, how did you know that this is DeWayne's HQ? Been doing some 'shopping'?" Anthony asked.

"No, me and DeWayne just swap stories that's all. Reminence on the good old days. I-" There was a loud laugh down the hall. "Think that is where we'll find DeWayne."

The group walked into the room and saw a tall,lanky man strewn across a high-backed Queen Anne chair. It was the pimp of this joint, DeWayne. On either side of him was KK and Nardo, standing as still as statues. "Yo, my home _dawgs_! What brings you to my humble crib? Oh. _Oh. _Oh my. You brought me a new 'employee'? I must thank you. She is quite the piece of eye candy too!" DeWayne thought the group had really brought him a new "employee".

"Actually, DeWayne, this is a lab tech from the forensics. We need to ask you a few-" Nardo and KK took a few menacing steps toward the team.

"Now, Justin you and I know damn well that my business and crib are both completely legal. I haven't done anything to break the law. I fought to open up this joint, and I sure as hell won't let it go up in smoke without a fight. Nardo, KK, step down and allow these nice men to ask their questions that have nothing to do with shutting us down. Isn't that right Justin?"

"DeWayne, if you would have just let us ask our questions, you could've saved your breath. Now, answer my questions, holmes," Cody said. He fished a photo from his trench coat. "Do you know who this woman is?"

DeWayne looked at the photo a moment, then rubbed a hand across his afro. "Nardo, who was this again? She was an expensive bimbo; I'll always remember that. You have any ideas KK?"

KK looked at the photo for a few moments, observing all of the facial features, slowly deducting all of the women he had copulated with in the last few months; that was a difficult task, for he copulated with quite a few women. "Wasn't that that Parker woman? Her name was, aw hell, what was it?"

Nehemiah suddenly snapped his fingers. "That's Alexis! Alexis Parker.... She died? How did that ever happen? She always toted two 9 millimeters."

Justin nodded at Cody. His eyes said, _That's the bitch that tried to kill us man._ Cody nodded back. "DeWayne, do your prostitutes have licenses to tote weapons?"

DeWayne glared at Nehemiah a moment longer. "Alexis did. She's, was, the only one that was smart enough to do it. You never did tell us how she died. And Cody-" DeWayne reached behind his back and grabbed a small sub-machine gun- "if any of your men are responsible for the death of my very productive client, you'll regret it very badly."

Cody cocked an eyebrow at DeWayne. "Is that a threat?"

DeWayne looked back with menace. "You better damn well bet it is."

"Then, in that case, I'll arrest your sorry-"

Suddenly, a rain of bullets began. Cody shook his head as he threw the couch over for cover. He then unholstered his .357, and returned fire. The first blast caught KK in the ankle, well, what was now left of it.

"KK!" Nardo shouted.

Hannah pulled her service revolver out and picked Nardo out of the equation. She shot him in the head as he bent over KK, attempting to pick him up and run out. The lead caaught the upper half of his head. Cody saw KK's eyes go wide as the blood sprayed on him.

Cody looked over the couch and another flurry of bullets sprayed right over his head. DeWayne was approaching slowly like a storm just over the horizon. This wasn't good. Cody leaped out from behind the couch, and began to pick random objects to hide behind. DeWayne then just went Rambo with his machine gun.

The only bad thing: this wasn't a movie.

The machine pulled up fast, and this suprised the pimp so bad, he just dropped thegun, when some blasted off ceiling plaster collided with his shoulder. The Cody then unleashed a metal rain upon his former school-mate.

When the dust and smoke cleared, a wail rose up from the survivors. It wasn't KK, he had passed into unconciousness. It was Anthony, and he was leaning over a body. "Shit!" Cody exclaimed. It was Hannah. There was a small trickle of blood coming from her mouth, and surprisingly, she was still alive. Cody could tell just by looking at her that she wouldn't be much longer until she passed into the clearing at the end of the path.

She had been shot in the right side of her chest. Anthony was crying and wailing, "Don't leave me baby! Don't you dare leave me," over and over again.

Hannah's eyes slowly glazed over as she muttered her final words, they were barely coherant through the blood that she was coughing up. "Anthony, you remember this, and you remember this well. I. Love." She was interupted by a long string of violent coughs. Suddenly, her hand went limp.

"NO! Don't leave me! Don't you dare go! Don't-" Anthony began to sob right there. As the tears flowed down his cheeks, he reached down to her left ring finger and briskly touched the ring that was on her finger. That was when he lost all of his sense for a brief moment. He snatched up his revolver and held it to his head.

"NO!" Justin and Cody shouted in unison.

Click. Click. Click. Anthony threw down the empty gun. "Damn you. Damn you. DAMN YOU," Anthony shouted at the empty gun, "Why couldn't you just let me end it? That's what I wanted. That's what I wanted." Anthony's head sagged down between his legs as his tears were reduced to watery croaks. Cody wiped his eyes clear of his tears as Justin knelt down to help Anthony. As Justin put one arm around him to whisper some encouraging and compassionate words to him, Anthony just collapsed into his arms, whispering "Why?", over and over again.

Cody reached down into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He briskly dialed a number and told them the situation that had took place. He glanced at Anthony who had just ripped a piece of his shirt off to mop the blood off of Hannah's face. "Yes, that's right. One ambulance, three.... three body bags," Cody choked up a moment, "and that's it." He paused a moment at the squawking voice on the other end of the line, whom was reading back what he had just said. "10-4."

* * *

Katherine looked at the corpse of Hannah McDougal. She wiped a tear away from eye. They weren't the best of friends, but a friend is still a friend, right? This was the logic that was sweeping through her mind as she began to cut open the chest. Katherine jumped at a small touch on her shoulder. She over her shoulder and saw Cody.

"Sorry to startle you." Cody looked at the body. "Sad thing isn't it? She was one of my best friends. Known her for about twenty-three years now, I think it is. I volunteered to be the assistant coroner."

With the autopsy finished, and back in the lounging room, Cody said the one thing that shattered the silence in the room. "I still love you." Kat looked back at him in mixed emotions. I still love you." Cody slowly embraced her in whispered, "Babyluv." He said witha sort of finality, as if that one word would portray and describe everything and the emotions he was feeling.

To Cody, it did.

Apparently, the same went for Katherine. She allowed Cody's frame to embrace and hold her. She buried her face in the hollow of his shoulder and cried for the eleven years of not if he was dead or alive, for Hannah, and for Cody. "What's in a name"? She asked after she stopped crying. Cody stopped stroking her long silky hair. "What's in a name?" She repeated, "In a rank's name?"

The General considered raising his fist and shouting "Powah!", but this wasn't high school anymore, or even college for that matter. Cody leaned down and lightly pressed his cheek down on the hollow of her shoulder and whispered, "Nothing. Nothing at all."

Katherine pulled herself out of his embrace and looked at him with her big emerald eyes and said, "Then why don't you leave the military? After this case, why don't we just leave? We could get married, and live off my inheritance and your-"

"Inheritance?"

Katherine looked perplexed, then sad. "So, you never got the word, huh? My parents and brother were in a plane accident. I found some old papers of stock they invested in, and they were worth millions. Not to meation Art left over two million in my name."

Cody rubbed a callused hand over his stubbled cheek. It sounded like sandpaper on sandpaper. His eyes were filled with grief. "I'm so sorry Kat. Art was like a brother to me. I just had no idea. I... I'm so sorry."

"It's need to worry about it. It's cool." She said it strong, but her face was telling a completely different story. Being in the military, Cody had learned to read faces. Currently, Kat's face was discontorted by pain, sorrow, loss, and amidst it all, a hope for new future. Kat's sudden change and preposition frightened the man who had been shot at several hundred times and stabbed twice.

"Give me some time to think about it." Cody finally said.

Dallas nodded her head yes, and said, "Okay." Cody left the room and walked down the corridor, not using his cane, back straight,chest puffed out, and his chin high. Kat looked out the door down the corridor and chuckled. "I sure hope it doesn't rain. She said, chuckling.

As Cody approached the forensics room, a sudden feeling of dread swept over him. He switched his grip on his cane so that he was holding the rubber tip of the cane; he was prepared to club anything that dared to threaten him. As Cody slowly turned the brass knob, he slowly began to realize where the dread was originating from. He slowly and soundlessly walked to the center of the room, where a sickly odor was rising. That was when Cody saw the edge of the maroon pool.

Cody stepped around the corner cautiously, thinking he was prepared for the worst, but the flouresent lights brightly illuminated the carnage that lay before him. His stomach flipped over several times at the sight of it all. His mind was having trouble comprehending the mutilated bodies that was at his feet. "God almighty on high," Cody muttered under his breath.

"Cody, are you in here?" Kat asked, entering the room.

Cody heard her tromping around, trying to find him. "No stay back! Don't come in any closer!" Cody yelled. The foot-falls stopped. "Go back out. Go find Justin, Anthony, and Taylor and stay with them until I say it's safe." The foot-falls resumed, but were falling instead of growing. The General stood still for a moment. The only sound he could hear was the constant, lazy sigh of the air conditioning. But there it was again. The small scurrying sound. A tiny splash in the slowly coagulating blood of the deceased. Cody spun on the balls of his feet, and brought the cane down hard on his new opponent.

There was a small 'squeak!', and then the AC reigned over the silence again. "It was a mouse. It was just a damn mouse," Cody mumbled under his breath. He glanced at the carnage again, sickened by it, then realized just how big of a fool he was. Cody looked at the tip of his cane in horror, viewing the blood and fur that coated that golden knob. He wiped the blood off on one of the cleaner coats, not really caring that he was contaminating the scene, because in a sense, he already had. He headed off toward the Director's office in a hurry.

Cody stole himself one last glance at the carnage that lay behind him. The mouse's foot twitched.

* * *

When Cody stepped into the Director's office, he vomited into the waste-basket that was beside her door. He coughed and moaned through the bile, "Man, that was some good sushi too." Cody leaned back over and vomited again. Despite the carnage, Cody couldn't help but laugh at himself for missing the sushi. His stomach threatened to dump the remaining contents that it with-heald in it's dormants, but Cody spit up nothing but bile.

The Director walked out of her small wash-room and saw Cody leaning over her "good" waste-basket, spitting up bile. "Cody, are you alright!?" She questioned him with alarm.

Cody leaned up. "Yeah, I'm fine 'Riah. Don't worry about me, but about the mutilated bodies in the forensics room. Also, there should be a crushed mouse a little bit into the blood-pool, along with mixed blood and a small pinch of fur on one of the cleaner lab-coats. Don't ne surprised if you find a chip of gold paint on or around the mouse or lab-coat. It's from my cane."

"Okay," the Director said. She pulled out her cell-phone and hit the speed dial buton. "Yeah, Joel, send a several units out here. We have several mutilated bodies in the forensics room and the perp may still be at large." There was a brief pause as the Director listened to Joel. "Yeah, and bring an ambulance out just in case one of the vics is still alive or one of your men gets injured. Yep, ASAP." She flipped her phone shut with a flick of the wrist that comes only with endless previous times.

While the Director was talking, Cody couldn't help but realize all over again just how beautiful the Director was. Her true name was Mariah Logan, 'Riah to her friends, and was tall for a woman. She stood atroughly 5' 11", had dark brown hair, sky blue eyes, and had managed to keep a physique that women ten years younger than her would envy.

"Well, Cody, I'm required to get you to completely write out a statement saying everything you saw. But, on a lighter note, can you believe we're less than three hours from a brand new millenium? But it looks like we're going to be spending it here." Mariah smiled. "Office gossip has it that you and Kat might be getting back together. Is it true?"

Cody smiled back. "Might? There isn't a might to it. We are back together, and after this case we plan on leaving the military for good. Maybe this time I won't disappear for eleven years."

Mariah chuckled and leaned back in her chair, "That's good to know." Cody realized that the Director really didn't relax all that much anymore. This was a side that he missed, and really hadn't seen since high school.

"Well, I hate to kill the mood, but I suppose I have paper-work to fill out. Could you buzz the coroner's office and tell the guys that the clear's out? I told Kat to get Taylor, Bambino, and Anthony and head somewhere safe. I'm assuming that's where she went."

Mariah nodded and said, "Okay. But why the office?"

"Because there's dead-bolt doors and only two exits: the door, and a five floor fall to the concrete ground. That, and that's probably where Anthony and the others were to begin, most likely goofing off in the lounge, as usual."

"Well, that would certainly be a good place to go, and come to think of it, that really does sound like those two."

Cody looked over shoulder as he walking out and said, "Yeah, it really does."

As the General entered his office, he was relieved to see that the whole gang there. Justin, sitting behind his desk with his feet propped up on his desk and Taylor in his lap, Anthony propped up against the wall, whittling, and Kat sitting in one of the guest chairs, with it turned toward the door. "Oh thank God you're alright!" Kat exclaimed as she jumped up toward him and embraced him fiercely.

"Yeah, I'm okay, and I'm relieved to see that you're all alright, especially you," Cody said, poking his index finger in the center of Kat's forehead. "So, who's up for coffee and some waffles? I'm tr-"

A gunshot rang through the office, and suddenly the General sagged into Kat's arms. "Cody!? Cody!?" Kat screamed. Suddenly, Anthony threw the knife he was whittling with and hit the perp square in the chest. As the shooter staggered into the room, the echo of stilletto heels rang through the shattered silence. A woman fell out of the open doors of a large vault, and landed in a spreading puddle of her own blood. "What the hell are you waiting for? Call a damn ambulance already! Hang in there baby, you're gonna be okay. Hear me? You're gonna be okay."

* * *

_Well this is a BIG chunk of time right here. I hope you enjoyed it so far. This is kind of a one chapter unless some people say they like it. Then maybe there will more chapters (shorter, granted), and maybe this will turn out to be an okay story. Hope you enjoyed an please review!_

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

_For Sassy, my first Fan_

_Well, the first thing you may notice is that there are times and dates in this chapter, as there will be in future chapters. I figured I may have confused some people by not putting that in, plus it helps with the flow of the story, since some points kinda need time and dates._

* * *

_11:53:11 P.M._

_December 31, 1999_

_Whoo-oop! Whoo-op! Whoo-oop!_

The sound of sirens blasted through the still air as the ambulances rushed towards the large M.P. headquarters. As they skidded to a stop, Anthony came rushing out with the General in his arms, only to followed in hot pursuit by Colonel Cleary with the lady who had just shot the General in the back. _What a cowardly bitch_, Justin thought, _Shooting a man in the back. I can only hope that it missed his vitals _and_ his spinal cord. _Justin looked down at the barely breathing body he held in his arms. _You best hope you don't live through this, because if you do, your ass is mine. _

Justin looked behind him to see if his wife and Kat were still behind him.

They were only a few steps behind him. He ran to the farther ambulance just in hopes of shortening the woman's life. He then practically threw her arms of one of the EMTs, telling them she was their problem now. "Who's riding with her?" The EMT shouted after him.

Justin had a grim smile on his face. "Let's hope the devil is!" Justin shouted behind him. All the EMT could do is shake his head in a confused bewilderment. Justin got to Anthony and asked, "Who's riding with Cody? Oh, yeah, by the way, your knife is still stuffed inside that sorry cunt's chest if you don't mind."

"I don't at all. And, Kat is." Anthony said. Justin crinkled his nose at this. "Hell, it's only appropriate. They are engaged now. Aw, come on. Pick up that jaw of yours now. Why should you care? You're married."

"Bu- but. He's my best friend! I should be at his side! I-"

"Well, too late now, Bambino. They are gone."

"Dammit! Get in my car! We're gonna be there _before_ the EMTs are. C'mon Taylor!"

"No, there isn't enough room in there. Just get in my car." Taylor said calmly, as if she was the only one that hasn't been the least phased by any of this.

"Aw, snap! What the hell!? You still haven't gotten this fixed yet Taylor?" Justin shouted as he tried to open the back doors of Taylor's car.

"No, just get up here! I'll sit in the middle. Anthony's driving." Taylor said.

The Colonel swallowed down his fear.

* * *

The trio had been flying ninety-to-nothing as their hearts pumped adrenaline throughout their bodies. Streetlights zoomed by and highlighted the group's grim feautures as Anthony blazed through the traffic. _If somebody were to get Tay's license plate number_, Justin thought,_ insurance is gonna kill us._ Justin was startled from his thoughts as the sound of squeeling tires pierced his ear-drums. Justin looked behind them to see the red light turn to green. He gulped.

"Shit!" Anthony said through gritted teeth as he weaved his way through traffic, still shook up by near wreck.

"The point is to get us there alive!" Justin said.

"There it is!" Taylor shouted as Anthony whipped into the lane that led to the ramp. A series of horns and curses rang out through the air as Anthony continued to recklessly drive to the hospital.

"It would have been so much safer if we would've just took my truck! People move out of _my_ way when I'm in that bad boy." Anthony said as he swooped towards the parking lot of the emergency room. Justin got out of the car, shaking slightly as he walked toward the entrance. A mere three seconds later, the ambulance that had the General pulled into the parking lot.

"Hurry, get him to an OR now! If we don't hurry up and get that lead out of him, he's not gonna make it!" The head EMT shouted out. "Hurry, I don't wanna lose another one!" The other EMTs quickly got Cody off and rushed him into the hospital.

The other ambulance pulled up behind and a dreary looking EMT stepped out. Justin ran up to him and immediately began interoggating him. "Did that woman survive? Can I see the body? Where is she?" The EMT just gestured toward the back of the ambulance and shook his head. "So, she's dead?" He nodded his head yes. Justin tried not to look too terribly disappointed as he walked away. "Oh yeah, by the way, I'm gonna need that body. She is officially part of an ongoing murder investigation."

The EMT just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really give a damn. She looked me in the eyes and said she hoped all of us burned in hell."

"Well, let's hope she doesn't hold the door." Justin briefly looked down at his watch. It was just another fifty seconds until the dawn of a new millenium. He briefly gulped, remembering all of the theories. He looked down again at the door, and realized that there was only thirty-five seconds left.

Justin didn't take two long to find Taylor and Anthony, sitting side by side in the waiting room, watching the countdown on the television. Justin sat down and covered his eyes with his cap as he listened to the excitement and commotion that the T.V. brought through it's speakers.

"_Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two-"_ Justin looked up, confused at never hearing one.

"What happened?"

Anthony looked up, "It was just a power flicker. People probably cooked up something to do for the millenium that caused a surge. Nothing to be too worried about. Hey, why don't you two sit down here while I go to the basement for a smoke. Call me if anything comes up."

* * *

Anthony got down to the basement, but only a fourth of what seemed to be all the lights were on. This struck him as peculilar, but didn't let it bother him too much. That was when he heard the sound. At first, he couldn't quite place his finger on where he had heard it, but then it struck him like a slippery fish.

_He remembers the the early auntumn of '97, when a rather nasty storm had blew through his summer home in Florida. Him, Justin, Cody, and a couple of other friends had been there when it happened. _

_Back then, he had an old generator, one he had picked up at an old garage sale (it was a big old clunker too; it made more smoke than energy, as Justin's immortal words were). They had managed to find it in the maze of junk that was Anthony's garage, and dragged it out to the patio, filled it with gas, and fired her up after what seemed like 100 failures._

_Thanks to it, they didn't have to spend the day without electricity, like so many more of the other residents of the street._

That was what it sounded like to him, except much more silent, and he didn't even smell smoke. Probably because they had a ventilation system to vent out all the fumes. Then, Anthony began to think that maybe all of Justin's crack-pot theories weren't theories that much. So far, he hadn't heard any news on the General or missiles being accidently launched, so maybe it was just a serious power surge.

Anthony fired his lighter up, and took a puff off the cigarette, enjoying the warm flow of nicotine through his body.

_11:17:54 A.M._

_January 1, 2000_

"Justin, Cody is awake and doing all right!" Kat said excitedly as she shook the groggy colonel awake. "He wants to talk to you. So get up, and make yourself somewhat presentable. You look like crap."

Justin eased his aching back into a sitting position and stretched, his back cracking in several places as he mumbled curses about life not being fair. He then proceded to get up and head to the bathroom. When he saw his visage in the mirror before him, Justin almost crumpled

to the floor with laughing fits.

His normal, carefully combed hair was poking in almost every concievable angle, a rather scruffy beard adorned his cheeks, and his eyes were blood-shot. He agreed with Katherine on how he looked. He pulled several paper towels from the container and wet them, using them to smooth out his hair as much as he could without getting his shirt too wet. There wasn't anything he could do about his eyes or the beard at the moment, so he just headed to the General's room.

After some searching, Justin found the General, lying on his stomach with Anthony, Taylor, and Kat near him, all talking and chatting happily. The air became a tone more serious when Cody spotted Justin. "Hey Bambino, as soon as you leave here, I need you to swing by the office and get all of the case files, plus a clearance for Tay' to do the autopsy on the perp." The group looked curious. "I have a hunch on who may be pulling all of the strings."

* * *

_Well, there's yet another chapter down. Sorry it took so long, although I have no idea who I'm apoligizing to... Anywho, I hoped you enjoyed it my dear Reader, and please _**review! **_It would be much appreciated._


	3. Chapter 3

_1:13:26 PM_

_January 3, 2008_

Excerpt from General Sellers' journal:

_January 3_

_After checking myself out, against the doctor's orders, of course, I went back to the all the data and pictures and just everything in general. That was when I began to notice something extremely chilling about all of the killings: I knew every single one of the victims in some way or another, and each killing grew a little more close..._

_Victim One: Colby West; a former classmate from grade school. Didnt know him that well, but a friend in a sense._

_Victim Two: Brent Lee; a very good friend throughout high school and college_

_Victim Three_: _Sherman Gillum; what one would call a best friend. From grade school to high school to and throughout college._

_Victim Four: Wade Becton; also what one would call a best friend from high school throughout college. More chilling than that, member of military._

_How could they be getting so close to me? After all, the women have managed to infiltrate the military base_ twice_. Sure, security has been increased for the protection of all the staff and personel, but that leaves me a bit disturbed. How can someone get a clearence into a place like this where security is already supposed to that of a mininum level prison? You need clearence at the gate, then a key-card to get in, then show your ID at the door. How could they manage to get in so easily?_

Cody laid his pen down, allowing his hand to rest for a few moments while he pondered the case a bit longer. The whole security thing had not allowed him an easy night's rest ever since Justin had brought him the case files. That had only been two nights, sure, but those had been two of the most un-easy nights since the night of his... well, best to leave bad memories where they belong, locked down way deep. It had took him well over five years to finally find ease, and there wasn't any point in opening old wounds.

But it was too late, as a flood of memories came back in a monsoon of pain. The flashbacks tried to start, but Cody fought back, thinking of all the happy times they had shared, instead of that one dreadful moment, where he could nothing, and where he had felt so helpless. This was beginning to work, just like it had all the times before when Cody didn't want to take a stroll down Memory Lane.

Cody thought of the times when he would jam with Team Genesis in the cities, doing parkour. Those were the most exhilerating times of his life, taking drops to the concrete below, rolling to lessen the impact, getting over walls up to eighteen feet high, sometimes taller, and even on occasion, going into buildings through sky-lights and windows, just to say they did it.

That was when Cody realized it. The women were female traceurs! That explained how they got in and everything. Black clothes would allow them to slip in through the shadows, and a blanket would allow them to cross the fence easily. Then, the lowest window that would allow them access to an old office was only ten feet high, an easy feat for any established traceur. And the bathroom walls were even lower, and they were in the shadows even more, and closer to his office. So, if they were after him, the bathrooms were the ideal area for the women to get in. After that, they could simply change into business clothes, and a fake ID would cause no one to take a second look, unless they were with lustful eyes.

Cody grabbed his cell phone, and scrolled down to the Director's number, then hit the send button. His call connected to her voice mail before the first ring. "'Riah, this is Cody, obviously. Listen, I need you to do me a big favor. You need to increase security around the perimeters outside instead of inside. I know how the perps have been getting into the buildings."

Cody ended his call, and saw that he had one new text message. He opened it to and read it a loud, "Cody, the wench that shot you was Nikki Hutcherson. She looks nothing she used to and for good reason; half of her body was made out of platic." Cody shrugged; he would have never guessed it was Nikki, but it made good sense that she would want to kill him. After all, they had given her hell in school.

So, that made all the victims and one of the perps connected to his past. This was becoming a tangled web and it was becoming more and more up to Cody to untangle it.

_3:45:54 A.M._

It was another restless night in the Sellers home. Cody had left Kat in bed to stand outside on the balcony in his overcoat and Pjs. It was a comical sight in a sense; polar bear and snowflake pajama bottoms with a long john shirt. The heater had covered up his escape to the rigid winds and the overall noise of NYC. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a Swisher cigar, then clipped off the edge with his pocket-knife. He lit it up, then enjoyed the warmth that came with the large cancer stick.

He smoked his cigar, chewing thoughtfully on the filter. The dreams came again, haunting his memories. Once again, he trained his thoughts on happy times. He walked back inside and laid down softly beside Kat, hoping for a few hours of sleep. Slowly, he began to drift into a dreamless slumber.

_6:21:36 A.M._

Cody awoke, feeling even more like crap than he had felt before he went to sleep. It would have probably done him just as good to have stayed awake with a good book and a hot cup of coffe from the all night Starbuck's down the street. But as much as he wanted to stay in the bed and hope for sleep, the smell of fried venison and eggs were just too enticing. He forced himself out of bed, and put on a pair of jeans and a clean T-shirt. He walked into the kitchen and kissed Kat lightly on the lips, and watched a slight blush on her visage appear.

He stared deep into her eyes, and saw true love. Cody realized this was one of the few things that true joy could be found in. Cody couldn't remember the last time he had felt such happiness from just simply looking at a person. Cody wrapped Kat into an embrace and kissed her deeply and passionately. He looked at her and said, "I love you with all my heart," then gave her another kiss.

"Cody, are you really gonna leave the military after this case?" Kat asked, looking up at her knight in shining armor.

Cody looked down at his lover and told her, "Katherine, I want to leave the military, believe me, I would love nothing more than to get old and have children and grandchildren with you, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to get away from here that easily. So, we may have to endure just a few more years of this. But what do you say about eating this wonderful breakfast you prepared? Then, I need to go to the office for a couple of hours." Kat gave him a sour look. "Well, baby, with my back in the condition it's in, it isn't like I would be much good in the bedroom. I'm not even supposed to be walking around or using my left arm for the time being."

Kat cocked an eyebrow at him. "Well, just at least let that heal up right. I just wish you would stay at home and let Justin and Anthony work on the case for a little while. They get paid for it too." She paused long enought to take a bite of her breakfast. "I know this is personal for you and all, but it's sort of personal for them too, in a sense. They tried murdering their best friend and boss. And those women succeeded in getting one of ya'lls best friends." Kat's southern accent was slowly creeping back as she spent more and more time with Cody. "So, maybe you should just stay home and wash the dishes, or maybe watch a movie with me, but please just don't go back to that damn office!"

Kat had a deep foreboding feeling about Cody returning to the office, but she would never say it aloud. Even if she did, it wouldn't do much good, because Cody would more than likely brush it off and head to his desk anyways.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'll help you do the dishes," Cody said jokingly as he gathered up the glasses and plates and rinsed them off. Cody noticed that he had let quite a few bowls and coffee mugs accumulate over the last couple days. Ten minutes later, after all the dishes had been dried and put into their respective locations in the cabinets and drawers, Cody squeezed his love goodbye and headed off out the door into the city.


End file.
